


Living A Complicated Life

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Driving, Flying, Gen, Kidnapping, M/M, Manipulation, Marriage Under False Pretenses, Mildly Dubious Consent, Police Officer Will, Stalking, Telepathy, Will and Hannibal were engaged, Will and Matthew are married, but Will doesn't know the whole story, fae, high on life and drugs, life in general under false pretenses, messing with someone's memories, migraines, taking medicine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:11:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18713461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: Everything about Will's life is perfect and simple until the day a woman walks up to him and starts insisting that he's a man who disappeared a year ago. Which is just ridiculous, because Will would surely remember it if he had been kidnapped... wouldn't he?





	Living A Complicated Life

**Author's Note:**

> I was extremely tired while writing this, so just let me know if there's any major typos or story bits that need to be fixed :D

Half of the names on the list were already crossed off, and Will narrowed his eyes as he looked at it closely. “I don’t recognize all of these. Can we get someone to cross check these with all of the homicide cases we’ve had in the past two years or so?”

Someone nodded and took a photograph of the list, though Will didn’t move out of the way so that they could get a better angle. And he didn’t apologize for that, either. He just continued to stand there and stare at the list that was pinned to the wall, along with the severed human hand that had been nailed right next to it. One of the forensics cleared their throat, shifting awkwardly on their feet. “I’m sorry, officer, but I need to get a better look at that hand, and you’re…” they trailed off when Will didn’t even turn to look at them.

He was vaguely aware, somewhere in the edge of his attention, as a different officer pulled the forensic aside and told them to just leave Will alone until he decided that he was done looking. He appreciated having the support of his fellow officers, though he half-suspected that that was only because they didn’t want to have to deal with him going ‘crazy’. 

Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough at the scene for Will to be able to successfully recreate it. Annoyed with himself, and with the killer for being so thorough, Will returned to the precinct and found an open computer so that he could start typing up his report. This was, without a doubt, the worst part of the job. Maybe someday when he was a big shot detective, he could order some poor beat cop to do all his paperwork, as he saw plenty of others around the precinct do. 

As he was finishing up the report, he was aware of someone standing next to him, and they waited politely until he’d saved the file before they cleared their throat, and Will looked up at them. He didn’t recognize the woman standing there, and while he didn’t always pay much attention to the world around him, he always remembered faces. “Can I help you with something?”

The woman held out one hand. “Will?” He nodded slowly, continuing to stare at her, though of course avoiding eye contact, as he waited for her to just get to the point already. Her eyes widened slightly, as though she hadn’t expected Will to be himself, as weird as that was to think about. “I’m Dr. Alana Bloom. I’ve been looking for you for over a year now.” She looked at him expectantly, and Will furrowed his eyebrows.

“...okay? Perhaps you could tell me why you’ve been looking for me?”

She leaned forward, resting her hands flat on the tabletop in front of Will, and spoke in a soft whisper so that none of the other cops in the room would be able to hear her. “If your kidnapper is someone who works in this station, just nod once.”

Will snorted. “I’m sorry, but what? Clearly there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here. I don’t have a kidnapper, and I’m not missing from anywhere. Whoever it is that you’re looking for, it’s not me.”

The doctor shook her head insistently. “It has to be. I’ve seen the photos of you in your file. Your name is William Henry Graham, you’re thirty-four years old, you live in Wolf Trap, Virginia, you have seven dogs, you’re engaged to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, you-”

Will held up one hand. “Alright, so I can see where you made your mistake. My name is Will Brown, not Graham. I’ve lived in Brockton my entire life, and I definitely don’t have any pets or a fiance. I’m married.”

Dr. Bloom straightened up. “No, you’re Will Graham. I may have never met you in person before, but your fiance was my mentor when I was younger, and a friend of mine now, and you’re exactly how he’s always described you.”

Will shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to tell you. If you want to file a missing person’s report for the actual guy you’re looking for, then I can help you out with that, but otherwise-”

“I’m not giving up on you,” she said fiercely. “Are you still going to be in town the next few days?”

“Yeah, I live here. Now if you don’t mind, I have actual police work to be focusing on. I wish you the best of luck with finding your missing man.”

,,,

Will hung up his jacket as he entered the apartment, and saw that Matthew’s jacket was already hanging up. “Matt, I’m home!” 

“In the kitchen!”

Will went into the kitchen, though there was nothing being cooked, which was good because Matthew couldn’t cook to save his life. Instead, he had a bunch of photos spread out across the counter. He walked over to give his husband a quick kiss on the cheek before leaning back against the wall. “So how was your day?”

Matt shrugged. “Eh, same as always. A bunch of screaming children, a few newlyweds, and my personal favorite, a fully grown man getting a yearly portrait to ‘track his growth’. How was your day?”

Will frowned thoughtfully as he turned around to start rummaging through the kitchen for a glass to fill with water so that he could gulp down a couple of the migraine pills that he always carried around with him. “It was mostly normal. A grisly case that I can’t talk to you about. Some regular, boring old paperwork. There was something weird, though. I’m not even sure how to describe it. Some woman came to me and insisted that my name is Will Graham, and she insisted that I was kidnapped a year ago.”

Matt snorted. “That’s ridiculous. I think you might remember something like that.” When Will didn’t join him in laughter, a worried look spread across his husband’s face, and he stood up to walk over to right in front of Will. If it was anyone else getting that much into his space, Will would feel caged in and trapped, but it was Matt, so he felt safe. “What’s wrong?”

Will shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. Just…” he trailed off, debating with himself about whether or not it was even worth saying anything. “Sometimes I get this weird feeling, like I’m having some kind of dreams about some other life, or maybe that my memories from this life are really just dreams. And I get these super intense migraines when this happens. Does that make any sense?”

Matt reached up to gently grab Will’s glasses and pull them away from his face, and then leaned their foreheads together. “Do you try taking your meds when you feel like that?”

“Sometimes. But even though it hurts so much that it can feel like my head is splitting right open, sometimes I get curious enough to explore those feelings that I try to fight through the pain.”

Matt tucked a strand of Will’s curly hair behind one of his ears. “You shouldn’t force yourself to go through that kind of pain just for some dreams. Maybe you should think about making an appointment with Dr. Wren. Discuss your dosage or something. I hate the idea of you being in pain. And it really scares me to think that you might be out in the field someday, and then get incapacitated by these headaches, which could get you hurt even worse.” 

Will nodded a few times, and closed his eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll call her after dinner.” He smiled, though it wasn’t as strong as it could be. “I’m so glad that I have you in my life. I have no idea where I would be without you.”

,,,

The next couple of days passed by uneventfully, though Will did hear back that every name that had been on that killer’s list was the name of someone who had died in the past six months, though they weren’t all murders. Some had been accidents, some had been suicides, and some had been natural causes. So what reason did the killer have for putting them all on a list together? And what did they have to do with all the other names on the list? It was a frustrating dead end, to say the least.

And then, as he was heading out on Friday night, he saw someone standing by his car. It was too dark to see who it was from where he was standing, and he cautiously walked closer, ready to whip out his gun the moment it seemed necessary to do so. When he got closer, he could see that it was Alana Bloom, which didn’t exactly make him feel more relaxed. “So are you stalking me or something? Why are you here?”

She clasped her hands together in front of her. “I’m sorry. I know that you probably didn’t want me to interfere with anything that you wouldn’t consider to be any of my business, but I had to tell Hannibal that I found you here. It wouldn’t have been right for me to not tell him. He’s waiting at the hotel right now, and all he wants to do is see you, and see for himself that you’re alive and safe.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry that your friend lost someone important to him, but it’s not my responsibility to make him feel better. I’m not the one who he’s missing. I am perfectly content with my own life, and I don’t need anyone coming in and trying to ruin that.”

She bit her lip, and gave Will a pleading look. “Please? I swear, I’m not asking you to make any kind of promises. But Hannibal would know his fiance better than anyone, and if he looks at you and says that you’re not Will Graham, then I’ll leave you alone forever.”

Will shook his head. “This isn’t my problem. I’m telling you that I’m not this Will Graham guy, and if you’re not going to listen to me, then there’s nothing for me to do about that. Just leave me alone. Go back to wherever you came from, and take your friend with you.” 

He turned to walk away, but Dr. Bloom reached out to grab his arm. He immediately reached for his gun, and she quickly let go and held her hands up in the air, level with her head. “Alright. I can understand why you’d be wary about the idea of following a complete stranger off to meet someone else who you also seem to think is a complete stranger. But I can’t just leave this alone until I know for sure. Hannibal is a good friend of mine, and if I can do anything to reunite him with his missing significant other-”

Will crossed his arms over his chest, giving Dr. Bloom his best unimpressed look (and he had it on good authority that it was a pretty decent one). “If this Hannibal guy is such a good friend of yours, why haven’t you ever met his fiance?”

Dr. Bloom blinked once, and then frowned. “Hannibal has always been a very cautious man. He did not want to introduce someone new in his life until he knew without a doubt that that someone was going to be in it for the long haul. But he talked about you all the time. He loves you.”

Maybe it just wasn’t sinking in for Dr. Bloom just how creepy all of this sounded. “If you keep trying to harass me with this nonsense, I’m going to get a restraining order against you.” Then he shoved past her to get into his car and drive away, looping around and going all throughout the city in order to avoid being followed home.

There was no sign of Matt being around as he hung up his jacket, and then headed to the bedroom to strip out of his uniform. It always felt nice at the end of the day to pull on a plain tee shirt and some jeans, and then he headed to the kitchen. He wasn’t a brilliant chef, but he could make a few passable dishes, so he threw a few things into a pot of boiling water and stock and left it to simmer for a little while. 

He grabbed a book from one of the many stacks that were lying around the apartment, and leaned forward over the counter as he began reading. He didn’t expect to get interrupted by the sound of a knock on the front door. Nobody ever came to visit. Maybe Matthew had lost his key? But he was usually so meticulous and well organized, at least compared to Will. 

Will slowly walked over to the door, and peered through the peephole. There was an older man standing in the hallway, dressed in a tacky, but expensive, looking suit. Will opened the door just enough to peer out at the man, but left the chain lock in place. “Yeah?”

The man’s eyes widened, and he just stared at Will for an uncomfortably long period of time. “It’s really you,” he whispered. “I’ve been searching for you for so long, my beloved.”

Will immediately slammed the door shut. “Whoever the hell you are, just go away! I’m a police officer, and I am not afraid to have you arrested. My name is Will Brown! I’m married, and have been for the past seven years! I’ve never even been to Virginia before!”

The man, who had to be Hannibal Lecter, didn’t seem any more capable of just giving up and going away than his friend did. “Whatever it is that’s been done to you to confuse you, I promise that I will find a way to fix it. And when I find the one responsible, I will tear them apart for you. I can prove that I know you, Will. That you are mine.”

“I don’t belong to anyone!” he snarled. “You have twenty seconds to get the hell out of here before I’m calling for backup!” 

Lecter continued as if Will had said nothing at all. “I know about your empathy. About how you can jump into the mind of anyone around you. Be me for a moment, Will, and you will know that I am telling nothing but the truth.”

It seemed pointless to even bother responding to the man if he wasn’t going to listen, and instead, Will turned off the stove, and then hurried into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He called his partner, and only had to wait for a couple of rings before his call was answered. “Thompson, it’s me, Brown. There’s some delusional stalker at my door, insisting that I’m his fiance, and he refuses to leave even after I asked him to several times. He’s-”

,,,

_“Ah, Will, it is a pleasure to see you, as always. What can I do to help you today?”_

_Will pressed his lips together into a flat line as he tried to think about the best way to word his thoughts. “You’re not allowed to tell me that I’m crazy, right? Like it goes against some kind of psychiatry rules or something?”_

_Hannibal arched one eyebrow in bemusement. “Whatever it is that you want to talk about, I am willing to listen, and I can assure you that this is a judgement-free office.”_

_Will took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out. “You know how sometimes it seems like even empathy can’t explain some of the leaps I make? Well there is a reason for that. I’m-_

,,,

Will blinked a few times, and started to pull back when he realized that he was being held in place, until he recognized the familiar arms, and slumped back against the chest behind him. “Matt, when did you get here?”

“Just a minute ago. Your partner is waiting out in the living room to take your statement. He said something about you calling him about a stalker, but when he got here, there was no one in the hall, and you weren’t responding to his calls or knocking. Looks like you were dissociating or something.”

It felt like Will was still half-asleep, but he didn’t want to worry his husband even more than he already must have. He only let himself bask in the comfort of Matt’s embrace for another few seconds before pulling free and stepping out of the bedroom. Thompson was standing over by the counter, wearing jeans and a department hoodie. “Ah, it’s good to see that you’re alright. I was worried after how freaked out you sounded on the phone. So are you ready to talk about what happened?”

Will nodded, and sank down onto the couch. “On Tuesday, a woman came into the station, and claimed that I’m some guy who’s been missing for a year. Which is nuts, since I’ve been working as an officer for at least the past three years, and I’ve always lived in this city. She was short, around five feet, long brown hair, fair complexion, gray eyes. I told her to go away. As I was leaving the station today, she was standing by my car, saying that the missing guy’s fiance was in town and that she wanted me to meet him. I told her to back off and I came home, and then the guy showed up. He was around my height, dressed in a fancy suit, short ash hair, reddish eyes, and had a weird accent. He was trying to convince me that I’m his long lost fiance. When he refused to leave, I called you.”

Thompson wrote down all of his notes about what Will had said, and then closed the notepad and slipped it into his pocket. “Sorry you had to deal with that. Some people are just crazy. Have you tried looking up the missing guy, to see what that’s all about?”

Will shook his head. “It hadn’t really occurred to me. I’m more focused on doing whatever I need to in order to make sure that they can’t come back here. This guy came to my home, Thompson.”

After a few more minutes, his partner promised to look into it, and then left so that he could enjoy a family dinner. Will felt slightly guilty about pulling him away from it in the first place, but then reminded himself that a person’s safety was more important than a different person’s comfort. 

,,,

Monday, as Will slid into the patrol car, Thompson handed him a file folder. “Check it out. They say that everyone has a doppleganger somewhere in the world, right? I think we found yours. And you guys even have the same first name. It’s definitely more than a little weird.”

Will flipped open the file, and the picture clipped to the inside did look eerily just like him. The only real difference was that the man in the picture wasn’t wearing glasses, and had his hair tamed down in a way that Will had never been able to manage. He skimmed the rest of the information, and it matched what Dr. Bloom had told him. “So Graham worked as a teacher in the FBI academy. Which means we both went into a law enforcement related field. And we’re apparently both attracted to men.” He looked up to give his partner a small smile. “Thanks for this.”

There was a contact number listed for Graham’s workplace, which was Agent Jack Crawford. Will called during their lunch break. “Crawford.”

Will cleared his throat, suddenly feeling awkward. “Uh, hi. I’m Officer Will Brown of the Brockton Police Department. In Maryland. I’m calling because-”

“Will? Is that really you? Where the hell have you been?”

Will shook his head, even though he knew that the other man wouldn’t be able to see it. “No, I’m not your employee. I just happen to share a few similarities with him. Which has led to his fiance coming here and harassing me. I can assure you, Agent Crawford, I am quite happy in my life and my marriage, and have also never even been in Virginia, and I certainly don’t have the right temperament to be a professor of anything. I’m just calling because if there is any way for you to reign in Hannibal Lecter, I would greatly appreciate it.”

A few seconds passed in silence, and then Crawford let out a soft sigh. “You sound just like him,” he finally said. “I guess I got a bit ahead of myself. I’m sorry for having to deal with the good doctor, Officer Brown. I have no authority over him, but I’d like to think that he’s a friend, so I’ll talk to him, and try to get him to return home. Thank you for calling me about this.”

“It’s not a problem,” Will assured the agent. “I just wanted to make sure that-”

,,,

_“You sure that this is the Ripper, Will?”_

_Will nodded with determination. “Yes. Abel Gideon is the Chesapeake Ripper, and he is responsible for all those senseless murders. It’s tragic that his life was ended in this way, but I doubt you’ll find very many people who wouldn’t agree that he got what he deserved.” Then Will pulled off his latex gloves and tossed them into the trash as he walked away from the crime scene._

_He got into his car and headed straight for Hannibal’s, pounding on the office door when he got there. The door swung open, and Will took just long enough to make sure that there were no patients in the office before he leapt forward into Hannibal’s arms and pulled the man into an intense kiss. It felt almost like a battle between the two of them, but Will was determined not to lose._

_When he finally had to pull back for air, he gave Hannibal a smile. “It was beautiful.”_

_“I’m so glad that you liked my gift.”_

_Will reached up to cup the sides of Hannibal’s face, and gave him a fond look. “Jack bought it all. As far as the world knows, Abel Gideon was the Chesapeake Ripper, and he killed himself in his final attempt to escape the police. You’re free, Dr. Lecter. To do whatever you want, to whoever you want.”_

_Hannibal grinned widely. “Would that include yourself?”_

_Will laughed. “Of course. If you can catch me.” Then he tore himself away from Hannibal and hurried across the office to the ladder. He made it part of the way up before Hannibal was grabbing him by the legs and yanking him down, though he landed safely in Hannibal’s arms without a scratch on him. “Don’t consider this a victory, Hannibal. I let you have that one, because I’m as eager for the future as you are.”_

_“Is that so?” Hannibal asked in an amused voice. “Well then we may as well move on to the ‘future’ portion of this meeting. I do hope that you won’t disappoint me.”_

,,,

Will’s head was killing him, and he fumbled to pull his meds out of his pocket to choke down a few pills without bothering to count them out or get any water to swallow them down with. “Take me home,” he rasped out. “I need to call in sick.”

Thompson nodded understandingly, and probably would have turned on the sirens to speed Will back home if it weren’t for the fact that it was a migraine that was causing him such a problem. Thompson helped him up to the apartment, which was good because Will was afraid that he would just completely topple over on his own. After he was safely tucked in bed, Thompson left him with some well wishes, and then headed out to go back to work.

Will wanted to call his husband to come home and take care of him, but he wasn’t selfish enough to pull the man away from his job. Neither of them made that much money, and it was a team effort to keep their lives comfortable at their current level. So if Will was going to take a day off, then he couldn’t afford for Matt to as well.

He ended up dozing off, and waking up to see Matt sitting on the edge of the bed, just watching him. “What time is it?” he mumbled.

“Just a bit after half-six. I got home at my usual time, but when I saw that you were conked out, I went to get some of your favorite soup from that place down the street.” He reached out to press the back of his hand to Will’s forehead, and then pulled it away. “No fever. What happened?”

Will sighed. “Damn migraines. They’ve been getting worse and worse lately. And I keep having these really bizarre dreams every time I get these headaches.”

Matt nodded. “I know that you never called Dr. Wren, so I took the initiative. You need help, Will. I can’t stand to see you in pain if there’s anything at all that I can do to prevent it. You have an appointment for eleven tomorrow. Which is fine, because you shouldn’t be going in to work until we get this figured out.”

Will smiled, and reached out to pull Matt into a loose hug, burying his face in his husband’s chest. “I love you so much.”

Matt reached up to card his fingers through Will’s hair. “I know. I love you too.”

,,,

Dr. Wren had the same stern look on her face that she always did. When Will had first started seeing her, he’d been worried that she always had bad news for him, but after a little while, he’d figured out that it was her natural look, and that if there was something really wrong, she would be able to make it quite clear to him. 

“I’ll admit, I’m stumped. There’s really no reason for your migraines to have picked up in frequency after years of them being predictable and brought on only by certain stimuli. I’m putting in the order for you to have an MRI test. There’s no guarantees that it’ll help at all, but it’s the next logical step, all things considered.”

Will leaned back against the cold wall, wishing that Matt could have come with him. But of course his husband had work, and Will couldn’t blame him for not wanting to lose his job when it wasn’t some kind of emergency. Dr. Wren told him that she’d be right back, and then left the room. Will’s eyelids drooped down, and he felt like he could fall asleep any minute, even though he was on a lumpy doctor’s bed in nothing but a paper gown and his boxers. 

When the door opened again, Will had to fight to open his eyes, but once he saw who was there, adrenaline raced through him, and he suddenly felt wide awake. Will leapt to his feet, and glanced around the small room for some kind of weapon. The intruder held his hands up. “Please, don’t panic, Will. I am only here to help you. Something is interfering with your memories, and I need to find out what that is if I’m going to be able to fix it.”

“I’m not having any problems with my memories,” Will snarled. “For instance, I can remember just fine that you’re a psycho stalker creep. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not the guy you think I am? Just leave me alone already!”

Lecter had an odd look on his face. “I’m afraid that I can’t do that. If you regain your proper memories and still wish to be left alone then I will obey that in an instant, but right now, you are dying. Whatever’s been done to you is killing you, slowly but surely. You seemed confused when I mentioned your empathy before. I think that whatever’s changed your memories has also messed with that, which means that it has something to do with the fae.”

Despite the deadpan delivery, Will couldn’t help laughing out loud. “You’re kidding, right? Please tell me that you don’t actually believe that somehow… fairies are involved with anything? It would have been nice if Agent Crawford had mentioned that you’re completely out of your mind.”

One corner of Lecter’s mouth stretched back into a crude looking smile. “I had quite a similar reaction when you first used the word. But you were able to convince me that it was all the truth.” And then he was suddenly moving much quicker than Will would have expected from a man of his age, and he was grabbing Will’s bare arm. The moment that their skin touched, a headache started pounding away in Will’s head with a nearly intolerable aggression.

...

_“Well there is a reason for that. I’m a fae.”_

_Hannibal raised one eyebrow. “I’ll admit, this isn’t a metaphor that I’m quite familiar with.”_

_Will shook his head. “I’m not talking about metaphors, Hannibal. I’m a member of what humans call ‘fairies’. I can read minds, and that’s how I figured out that you were the Ripper after everything with Cassie Boyle.”_

_Suddenly there was a dangerous look in Hannibal’s eyes, and Will felt as though he was being approached by some ferocious predator. But he stayed where he was, not willing to back away out of fear. “I believe that you are mistaken,” Hannibal said blandly._

_“I’m not.” And he continued to just stand there as Hannibal rushed at him and jammed a scalpel into his throat. It hurt like a bitch, but he reached up and yanked it out, tossing it onto the floor. As soon as the blade was removed, the skin closed up, and there was no blood anywhere to be found. “Oh, and I’m immortal, too.”_

_Hannibal stared at him intensely for several long seconds. “Everything that I know of the world says that you should be impossible,” he said softly. “If you believe me to be the Ripper, why have you not turned me over to the police?”_

_The grin on Will’s face probably looked at least slightly deranged, but he didn’t care. “Because you’re the most interesting human I’ve ever met.”_

,,,

Will yanked his arm free from Lecter, but it felt like the images that had accompanied his migraine had gotten seared into his mind. “What the hell is going on?”

“You were stolen away from me, Will. So soon before we were to be wed. I knew that it had to be someone with a great deal of power, because you are not a man easily moved by outside forces. It was as though you had disappeared right off the face of the earth. You once told me that the fae live in a different world than this one, and I had feared that you had returned there, or been brought back against your will. I was afraid that I would never be able to see you again.”

It was a little bit difficult to focus on Lecter’s words when his head felt like someone was repeatedly driving a large spike right into it, but he got the basic gist of what the man was saying. And it was clearly all insane. “Please, just leave me alone. Whatever it is that you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it with me, so just go away, and look for you fiance somewhere else, preferably somewhere very far away from here.”

There was a look of determination of Lecter’s face. “I’m afraid that there would be no point in that, as I have already found my beloved. Don’t worry, I can prove it to you.” He grabbed Will’s arm again, which caused the headache to flare up again, and it was bad enough that he didn’t even realize what Lecter was doing until the blade was pressed right against the skin of his arm.

He tried to tug his arm free, but he was too late, and the blade was slicing through him. Then Lecter let go and Will staggered back, clutching at his arm. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m definitely getting your ass thrown in jail now! That was blatant assault, and…” he trailed off as the pain in his arm faded away, and he removed his hand. There wasn’t even a single mark or drop of blood. “What the hell?” he breathed out.

“You cannot be permanently injured by human hands. That you can be hurt by other fae is a caveat that you added on later in our relationship. Come home with me now, Will. We can figure everything else out from there.”

Will continued to stare at his arm, not sure what to think of any of this. He tried to remember some other time that he’d gotten hurt, but the more he thought about it, the weirder it was that he couldn’t think of a single incident. Sure, he had his migraines all the time, which always made him feel like he was dying, but never any physical injuries as far as he could recall. But how the hell had this complete stranger known that this was the truth? Did he go around slashing open every Will Graham look alike until he found one that didn’t bleed? Because the idea of his story actually being true just seemed too ludicrous to consider.

“Regardless of whatever is going on here, I am not going anywhere with you. As I told you before, I am happily married.”

Lecter narrowed his eyes. “Yes. What better suspect is there in the case of your kidnapping than the person who gets the benefit of pretending to be your husband?”

Will shook his head. “I would remember being kidnapped. I don’t have any missing time. I have an entire lifetime of memories of my life here in Brockton. What you’re saying is just impossible.”

Lecter held out the blade that he’d used to cut Will’s arm. “I know that this must all seem rather strange to you, but surely it can’t be classified as ‘impossible’.”

He clenched his jaw, and then suddenly yanked over one of the cabinets in the room. He found a syringe, and pulled it out of the packaging. Maybe whatever Lecter was holding was just some kind of prop knife. Or a toy of some kind. Something that hadn’t actually caused him an injury at all. He poked the needle into just the tip of one finger, and a single bead of blood dripped down. When he tossed the needle aside, there was nothing there at all. 

This was all too insane, and Will’s headache made him want to go puke his guts up before curling up in a ball and dying, so he could barely focus long enough to think about what was going on. He went over to the chair that had his clothes messily draped over it, and riled through it to grab the bottle of meds out of his pocket. He poured a few pills out onto his hand, but before he could take them, Lecter smacked his hand at just the right angle to send the medication flying across the room. “I may not have a concrete idea about what happened to you, but I am beginning to consider a certain theory. How often do you take those pills?”

“Whenever I get a migraine,” Will muttered, keeping his voice low to try and prevent the ache from getting worse. He wanted to grab more medicine, but his head was being split in half, and he had to sink down to the ground before he completely collapsed down onto it. He pulled his knees up to his chest and pressed his face against his legs, squeezing his eyes shut and reaching up to press his hands against his ears, trying to keep out all sound and light. 

He didn’t even flinch when a hand was suddenly resting on his knee, because he was too busy putting all of his effort into stopping himself from getting sick or passing out. “You’re not looking very well, Will. Allow me to bring you home so that I can figure out how to fix this.”

Will shook his head, remaining stubborn despite how miserable he felt at the moment. “Matt’s gonna come and pick me up. I just need to-” he reached up blindly to swat at his pile of clothes, trying to find his phone. He managed to grab it, and opened it with a single press. “Call Matt,” he mumbled. 

The phone started to ring, but Will had to hold it several inches away from his ear because of how grating and loud the noise seemed at the moment. He wasn’t able to put up much of a fight when Lecter plucked the phone right out of his hand. “We are getting out of here now. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how sedatives will react with your body. It isn’t something that ever came up in conversation. But it seems as though I have no other choice. I will be right back. Stay here.”

As soon as Lecter left the room, the migraine seemed to lessen somewhat in intensity, which was a relief, because now it felt like Will could actually breath again. He ignored what Lecter had said to him, and snatched up his pill bottle, swallowing down at least five of them before shakily staggering up to his feet and over to the sink under the cabinets to gulp down water straight from the tap.

The pills acted as nearly instant relief, and the migrain began to die down some more. Now that he could actually think clearly, Will knew that he needed to get out of here. Lecter had mentioned sedatives, and was clearly a disturbed individual. Will was not going to become the kidnap victim that Lecter seemed so sure that he was. 

He got dressed at record speed and then ran out of the room, not even bothering to leave a note behind for Dr. Wren. There was just no time if he wanted to get out of this ordeal in one piece. He emerged from the building into the bright sunlight, which didn’t help with the headache, but it was bearable for now, so he ran towards his car, and took off.

Even if his gun was at home, Lecter knew where he lived, and Will would have to face off against him alone there. So instead he raced to the police station and stumbled inside, quickly finding Thompson. “That nut job followed me to the doctor’s office, and was trying to get me to stop taking my migraine meds, and said something about using sedatives on me, and he had a knife,” he panted out. 

Thompson blinked a few times, and then gingerly pushed Will back by the shoulders. “If you need to file a report, then you can do that at the front desk.”

Will frowned. “What? But it’s me, Thompson.”

The man shook his head. “I don’t know you.”

Before Will could run around the entire precinct to ask everybody there to do something, anything, to help him, he whirled around and slammed right into Matt. Matt pulled him into a hug, and Will automatically reached up to return it. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Sh, sh, it’s okay, I know,” Matt said softly. “We’ve overstayed our welcome in this town, so it’s time for us to move somewhere new. Somewhere that psycho won’t be able to find you. Do you still have any of your pills left? If you do, then I need you to take some right now.”

Will shook his head. “I’ve already taken too many today. Aren’t doses meant to stop a person from dying from too much in their system?”

Matt pulled Will closer. “Would I ever lie to you about something as important as your health? Now come one, let’s get out of here.” He looked up at the police officers who were all staring at them. “I’m sorry about that. My husband can get confused sometimes. We’ll just be on our way now.” 

They started to leave the station, though they paused at the front door. “What?”

Matt looked down at Will’s feet. “You really shouldn’t be running around outside without shoes on. You could get seriously hurt.”

“No I can’t,” Will told him earnestly. “Lecter practically cut my arm in half, but I’m fine now. Have you ever actually seen me get hurt before?”

Matt didn’t even have to think about it. “No. But it’s not because you’re some invincible being. It’s because I’ve always been looking out for you and making sure that you stayed safe. I can’t stand the thought of you getting injured. I love you too much.” He scooped Will up, and carried him across the parking lot like he weighed nothing. Of course Matt had some very nice muscles, but Will wasn’t some thin little maiden in distress. He was a full grown man, being carried as though it took no effort at all. 

He was settled into the passenger seat of Matt’s car, and then Matt pulled out some of the spare meds that he kept in there. Will obediently popped them into his mouth, and then leaned over to rest his head against Matt’s shoulder. “Are you a fairy too?” He fell asleep before he could remember getting any kind of answer.

,,,

_Will laughed. “As if I’d ever deign to marry a mortal.”_

_Hannibal narrowed his eyes in a way that would probably seem threatening if there was any way for him to actually hurt Will. “If you’re going to outlive me by so many years, then what could you possibly have left to lose?”_

_Will pursed his lips together. “I’d have to think about it. Now I have to go, or I’m going to be late.”_

_He left Hannibal’s office, and made his way to the BSHCI, where he was supposed to be meeting with Abel Gideon to interview him and figure out whether or not it was possible that he could be the actual Chesapeake Ripper like he was claiming to be. The orderly that led him to the right wing of the building had a pleasant smile on his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Graham. I’ve heard so much about you.”_

_Will grimaced as he thought of the many Tattle Crime articles that were all about him. “Most people who’ve heard about me don’t want to actually meet me in person.”_

_“Well that’s just a damn shame. It would be a waste not to be able to see your beauty up close. And you can rest assured, Mr. Graham, my information on you does not come from any human source.”_

_Will immediately turned to look at the orderly in surprise. “What are you talking about?”_

_The orderly chuckled. “We have a lot more in common than you probably would have expected. I’ve been waiting so long to come across another of my species. It’s been so lonely being stranded here.” Will instinctively looked around for cameras that could be recording their every word, and the orderly reached out to take one of Will’s hands. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t start talking about any of this if I thought we’d be overheard. I wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin this meeting. Are you okay, Mr. Graham? Are you crying?”_

_Will reached up with his free arm to rub at his eyes. “I thought I was the only one left.”_

_“So did I,” the orderly whispered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Matthew Brown.”_

,,,

Will struggled to open his eyes. “What did you do to me?” he managed to mumble out.

Matt reached out to rest his hand on Will’s thigh. “We’re the only two of our kind left, Will. We have to stick together. I’m keeping us together, and I’m keeping us safe. I’m doing what I need to do. I really do love you, Will. You have to believe that.” He glanced away from the road for a moment so that he could look at Will. “Hey, there’s some more pills in the glove compartment. Why don’t you take a couple? You can nap until we reach our new destination.”

“Why do we have to go somewhere new? I liked the old place.”

Matt sighed. “I know. Unfortunately, it’s not safe there for you anymore. Nowhere is safe if Lecter is there. He wants to take you away from me. He thinks that you’re his just because he found you first. But we need each other, Will. We’re the only two fae left in this world, and there’s no way to get back home from here. So we need to stick together, and be there for each other. I have your back Will. Do you have mine?”

Will hesitated before popping the pills he’d retrieved into his mouth. “So it’s all true? The things in my dreams? I was going to marry Lecter? I was happy with him?”

“No! You were only going to marry him because you thought that he was your best chance of protection. But that isn’t the truth. You are safest when you’re with me.”

Will reached up to rub at his temples. “How did you mess with my memories? And everyone else’s, too?”

Matt shrugged. “I’m a lot older than you. I can still remember what it was like to grow up in our proper home. There was no much to be learned there. So much that I could still teach you.”

Will felt so lost, but at the same time, he felt like he knew exactly what he needed to do. The first step was to roll down the window and hold the bottle out so that a small stream of pills trailed out behind them. Then he tossed the bottle too, just for good measure. “You kidnapped me from a life that I enjoyed so that we could play house together, all the while you were content to never tell me anything about my origins?”

“It was for your own good,” Matt said patiently. “You were too caught up in Lecter’s spell, and I needed to do something to make sure that you wouldn’t be tempted to run back to him.”

Will could barely even remember anything about Lecter outside of a few fuzzy dreams he’d had while in the throes of his worst migraines, but he could remember the feeling of happiness that accompanied those dreams, and it felt a lot more real than anything he could remember feeling for Matt in the entire time that they’d known each other. Or, well, at least in the entire time that he could remember knowing him.

He couldn’t get hurt, so hopefully this wasn’t going to be the stupidest thing that Will had ever done. He kicked the car door open and threw himself out after just a moment of hesitation. He rolled down the side of the road, and it felt like his entire body was on fire. All he could do once he’d stopped moving was just lay there for a moment. 

And then the pain actually started to go away, and he was able to get to his feet. Matt was already turning the car around to race back to Will, so Will turned and started running. He doubted that he’d be able to outrun a speeding vehicle, but he had to at least try. As he ran, he felt the strangest thing. A weird lightness, to his entire body.

Then he turned to look back, and was met with the sight of a gossamer fluttering by his head. It looked to be as thin as a piece of paper, with tiny blue veins running throughout it. Will reached up to touch the wing, and was surprised that it felt about the same texture as a slightly dried out leaf. It was so bizarre.

But he wasn’t going to stop and take the time to overthink this when he could be busy using these wings to fly himself to freedom. Even though he had no memory of flying, it came to him naturally, and soon he was soaring through the air. The wind whipped through his hair, making it even more of a mess than usual, and Will couldn’t recall a single other time in his life when he’d felt even half as free as he did while flying. It was an incredible feeling. He wondered if he’d ever taken Hannibal flying before. Did the doctor know about Will’s wings? 

Surprisingly enough, Matt continued to just drive in the car while Will flew, and they went at about the same speed as each other. At one point, Will daringly swooped down to peer through the open driver side window. “Why aren’t you flying after me?” 

Matt answered through clenched teeth. “My wings were cut off of me when I was left in this world to rot. Not all of us were left behind on accident, the way that you were.”

Will nodded, and then went back up again, deciding that it would be best to maintain as much distance as possible between him and Matt. And even when his muscles all screamed for him to stop, and his head began pounding, Will persisted, and soon found himself landing down in front of Hannibal. “Alright, so maybe I’m willing to hear you out.”

Hannibal looked so weirdly overjoyed that Will felt like he must’ve made the right decision. “Wonderful. Now let’s just go home already.”

“Just to warn you, I still don’t really remember much. Whatever Matt did to me has really messed with my memory.”

Hannibal dipped his head down in a single nod. ‘I understand. But what you need to understand is that I will stop at nothing to restore you to how you once were, and to make sure that you are completely safe and well. There is nothing in this world more important to me than you are, beloved.”

“Alright, alright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I still don’t even really know you. But if the few things I can remember are true, then I guess you’re the one who I want to be spending time with. Come on, let’s start with a coffee.” Hannibal nodded, and was more than happy to link elbows with Will as they strolled down the street. Nobody seemed freaked out by Will’s wrings, and when he glanced back, he saw that it was for the very obvious reason of them not being visible at the moment, though Will felt as though he could still feel their presence nearby. “So tell me about yourself.”

“My pleasure,” Hannibal practically purred out. “Oh, but where to begin…?”


End file.
